Embeddingly installed-type fastener

ABSTRACT

A fastener ( 10 ) includes an engaging section ( 18 ) provided on a major surface ( 12 ) of a strip-shaped base ( 16 ), and an embedding section ( 20 ) provided on a back surface ( 14 ) of the base ( 16 ). The embedding section comprises a plurality of posts ( 44 ) erected upright to the back surface ( 14 ), a plurality of anchors ( 46 ) provided at the end of the posts ( 44 ) so as to extend generally in parallel to the back surface ( 14 ), and a plurality of projecting elements ( 48 ) integrally connected to the outer periphery of the anchors ( 46 ) so as to extend generally in parallel to the back surface ( 14 ) and substantially in the width direction of the base ( 16 ). Each projecting element ( 48 ) has, at its free end region, a dimension projecting over a predetermined length laterally from the base ( 16 ). The fastener ( 10 ) is fixed to a molded body in a state that the engaging section is exposed while the plurality of posts ( 44 ), anchors ( 46 ), and projecting elements ( 48 ) are embedded in the molded body.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fastener that is installed integrallyto an article by means of an embedding section provided on a backsurface of a strip-shaped base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In an article like a seat on a vehicle, an office chair, a home chair,or a mattress, etc. there are used a core member having a cushion coremember made of a molded product like a foamed resin material, and aflexible covering member made of cloth or leather for covering thesurface of the core member. In such an article, it has been known thatan inter-engagement type fastener (what is called a plane fastener)having a plurality of engaging elements disposed on one plane of a base,that is, on a major surface, is used for fixing the covering member tothe core member. Particularly, users expect a high level of comfort fromthe articles like seats and chairs. In order to meet such user's needs,there has been an increasing trend that a flexible strip-shaped fastenerthat can be disposed in a slender groove recessed on the surface of thecore member along the seam of the covering member is used as fixingmeans for fixing the covering member to the core member (as disclosed,for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No.11-127915). In such a form of application, the strip-shaped fastenerfixes the covering member to the core member with the engaging elementsbeing detachably engaged with its counterpart, that is, engagingelements such as fiber loops provided on the covering member.

In order to fixedly install the strip-shaped fastener at a desiredposition of the surface of the core member with the engaging elementsexposed, an insert-molding method can be applied advantageously. This isa method in which the fastener is disposed within a mold of the coremember as the molded body and is fixed to the core member simultaneouslywith molding of the core member. According to this insert-moldingmethod, an elongated rail-shaped guide for holding the fastener in apredetermined posture is provided within the mold of the molded body.The guide usually has an elongated groove capable of accommodating thebase of the fastener and the engaging elements. The fastener isinstalled on the guide by inserting the engaging elements and the baseinto the groove in a state that a back surface (the surface opposite toa major surface) of the base is exposed.

An embedding section which is to be fixedly embedded into the moldedbody by means of the insert-molding process, is provided on the backsurface of the base of the fastener. Thus, the fastener is integrallyinstalled to the molded body using the embedding section.Conventionally, the embedding section has been composed so as tocomprise a plurality of posts erected upright to the back surface of thebase and thin plate-shaped anchors formed at the end of each post andextending generally parallel to the back surface. Each anchor has anelliptical profile of koban-like shape that does not project out in thewidth direction on the back surface of the base. The molded body isformed adjacent to the back surface of the base so as to surround theplurality of posts and anchors. Each anchor is thus bound as if it bitesinto the molded body, whereby the fastener is securely fixed to themolded body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the conventional strip-shaped fastener as described above, it isnecessary not only to ensure that the engaging elements exhibit desiredlevel of adhering force for adhering to the counterpart engagingelements, but also to ensure that sufficient strength be obtained in theinstallation of the fastener to the article (or the molded body) via theembedding section. Especially, when the manner in which the fastener isused in the above-described seats or chairs as fixing means for fixingthe covering member to the core member is taken into account, it isrequired that the strength of the installation exhibited by theembedding section should be larger than the adhering force exhibited bythe engaging elements, in order to prevent the destruction of theinterconnection between the fastener and the core member, when, forexample, tension is intermittently applied to the covering member byfrequent and rapid movement of the center of gravity of the seatedperson, or when the covering member is intentionally separated from thecore member for the purpose of replacement or the like. From thisview-point, it is required in the conventional strip-shaped fastener toimprove the installation strength for installing it to an article viathe embedding section as much as possible without impairing the inherentflexibility of such a construction.

One object of the present invention can be to provide a fastener whichis integrally installed to an article by means of an embedding sectionprovided on a back surface of a strip-shaped base, and which is capableof improving the strength of installation to the article by means of theembedding section as much as possible without impairing the inherentflexibility of such a construction.

In one aspect of the present invention, a fastener is provided thatcomprises a strip-shaped base having a major surface and a back surfaceopposite to the major surface, an engaging section provided on the majorsurface of the base, and an embedding section provided on the backsurface of the base, being adapted to be integrally installed to anarticle via the embedding section, characterized in that the embeddingsection comprises a plurality of projecting elements which arediscretely arranged spaced apart from each other in the longitudinaldirection of the base, and each of which extends outward from the basesubstantially in the width direction of the base.

The projecting elements can be formed integrally with the base. Theprojecting elements can be provided detachably on the base. Theplurality of projecting elements can be arranged at regular intervals inthe longitudinal direction of the base, and the projecting elementsproject symmetrically on both lateral sides of the base. Each of theprojecting elements can have generally flat outer surface extending inparallel to the back surface of the base on the side away from the backsurface of the base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. An enlarged perspective view showing a portion of a fasteneraccording to a first embodiment of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2. A plan view showing a portion of the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3. A bottom plan view showing a portion of the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4. A schematic perspective view showing a guide for installing thefastener of FIG. 1 together with the fastener.

FIG. 5. A view showing an article equipped with the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6. A cross-sectional view showing the fastener installing portionof the article of FIG. 5 when the fastener is inoperative.

FIG. 7. A cross-sectional view showing the fastener installing portionof the article of FIG. 5 when the fastener is operative.

FIG. 8. (a) a plan view, and (b) a side view, of a good example of theprojecting elements of the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9. (a) a plan view, and (b) a side view, of a modification of theprojecting elements of the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10. (a) a plan view, and (b) a side view, of another modificationof the projecting elements of the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11. (a) a plan view, and (b) a side view, of still anothermodification of the projecting elements of the fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12. An enlarged, partially cut-out plan view showing a portion of afastener according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13. (a) a plan view, and (b) a front view, of an anchor memberhaving projecting elements of the fastener of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14. (a) a plan view, and (b) a front view, of a modification of theanchor member having projecting elements of the fastener of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail belowwith reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, identical orsimilar constituent elements will be denoted by common referencesymbols.

FIGS. 1 to 4 are views showing a fastener 10 according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. The fastener 10 is aninter-engagement type fastener having flexibility in multipledirections, and is comprised of a strip-shaped base 16 having a majorsurface 12 and a back surface 14 opposite to the major surface 12, anengaging section 18 provided on the major surface 12 of the base 16, andan embedding section 20 provided on the back surface 14 of the base 16.

The base 16 is constructed of a plurality of box-shaped parts 22arranged in spaced-apart relationship with each other in thelongitudinal direction, and a plurality of connecting parts 24 formutually connecting the box-shaped parts 22 into one unit. Each of thebox-shaped parts 22 has a substantially hollow structure consisting of aplane upper plate 26 and a plane lower plate 28 extending approximatelyin parallel, a pair of side plates 30 for connecting between the upperand lower plates 26 and 28, and a partition plate 32 extending in thelongitudinal direction between the plates 26, 28, and 30. The majorsurface 12 of the base 16 is constructed of the upper plates 26 of theplurality of the box-shaped parts 22, and the back surface 14 of thebase 16 is constructed of the lower plates 28 of the plurality of thebox-shaped parts 22 in cooperation with the plurality of the connectingparts 24.

The engaging section 18 comprises a plurality of engaging elements 34erected at regular spacing on the major surface 12 of the base 16. Thoseengaging elements 34 are provided on each upper plate 26 of theplurality of box-shaped parts 22 forming the base 16, in the same number(seven in the Figures) and in the same layout. Each engaging element 34comprises a leg 36 stretching generally upright from the upper plate 26of each box-shaped part 22, and a plurality of (four in the Figures)engaging pieces 38 projecting sideways near the front end of the leg 36.The fastener 10 is detachably fixed to other article by having theplurality of engaging elements 34 of the engaging section 18frictionally engaged by means of the respective engaging pieces 38 withcorresponding engaging section provided on the other article. Theengaging elements 34 may be omitted on desired box-shaped parts 22 (atboth ends in the longitudinal direction in the Figures).

The lower plate 28 of each box-shaped part 22 has a slit 40 formed so asto extend in a crossing direction at approximately the center in thelongitudinal direction of the box-shaped part 22. Further, the lowerplate 28 has one rib 42 extending in the longitudinal direction crossingthe slit 40 provided to project on the back surface 14 along the wholelength of the base 16. The rib 42 has two posts 44 for each box-shapedpart 22 extending in the shape of thin plate along the rib 42, providedperpendicularly to the back surface 14. An anchor 46 in the shape of athin plate extending generally in parallel with the back surface 14 isformed on the front end of each post 44. Each anchor 46 has a profile ofkoban-like shape which does not bulge out in the width direction on theback surface 14 of the base 16. These plurality of posts 44 and anchors46 serve as an embedding section 20 for fixedly installing the fastener10 to a desired article.

In the fastener 10 having above-described construction, owing to thestress dispersion effect at each box-shaped part 22 having the hollowstructure, the base 16 can be bent as a whole relatively easily in ahorizontal direction, that is, in a direction generally parallel to themajor surface 12 and the back surface 14. Further, owing to the hingeeffect of each thin connecting part 24, the base 16 can be bentrelatively easily also in a vertical direction, that is, in a directiongenerally orthogonal to the major surface 12 and the back surface 14.Since the fastener 10 has the base 16 that can be easily bent both inhorizontal and in vertical directions, it is possible to install thebase 16 on any desired surface portion of an article having a variety ofthree-dimensional surface by accurately following the surfacethree-dimensionally. Preferably, the fastener 10 is integrally formedwith a resin material like nylon, polypropylene, etc.

As a specific feature of the construction of the fastener 10 accordingto the present invention, the embedding section 20 further comprises aplurality of projecting elements 48 arranged discretely so as to bespaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the base16. In the embodiment shown in the Figures, each of the projectingelements 48 has a bar-shaped form and is integrally connected at onelongitudinal end thereof to a periphery of the anchor 46 provided on theback surface 14 of the base 16, so as to extend generally in parallelwith the back surface 14 substantially in the width direction of thebase 16. Each projecting element 48 has, at the free end area thereof, adimension projecting over a specified length laterally from the base 16.

In the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the plurality of projectingelements 48 are formed with two elements being connected to each of theplurality of anchors 46 provided at generally equal spacing in thelongitudinal direction on the back surface 14 of the base 16 so as toproject from both side edges of the anchor 46 laterally on both sides ofthe base 16. As a result, these projecting elements 48 are arranged atequal spacing in the longitudinal direction of the base 16, andsymmetrically with each other on both sides of the base 16. With thisconstruction, when the fastener 10 is installed to an article by meansof the embedding section 20 as described later, the plurality ofprojecting elements 48 exhibit an installation strength uniformly inequilibrium over the entire length of the fastener 10.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the projecting elements may beprovided only on desired anchors 46 among the plurality of anchors 46provided on the back surface 14 of the base 16. In such a case, theinstallation strength of the base 16 to an article exhibited by theembedding section 20 can be locally increased at the positioncorresponding to the anchors 46 at which the projecting elements 48 areformed. Only one projecting element 48 may be formed for each anchor 46,provided that the equilibrium of the installation strength in the widthdirection of the base 16 is not significantly impaired.

The fastener 10 is, by means of an insert-molding process using a guide50 as shown in FIG. 4 to be described later, integrally installed to amolded body of desired shape.

The guide 50 is a rail-shaped block unit for supporting the fastener 10over a desired length, and is comprised of a bottom wall 52, and a pairof side walls 54 integrally erected from the bottom wall 52 along bothedges of the bottom wall 52 extending in the longitudinal direction. Thebottom wall 52 and the pair of side walls 54 form one stream of a groove56 capable of accommodating the base 16 of the fastener 10 and theplurality of engaging elements 34 along the whole length of the guide50. Both side walls 54 have inner surfaces 54 a respectively facing eachother with a uniform spacing therebetween over the entire length of theguide 50. The bottom wall 52 has a pair of sealing surfaces 52 aorthogonal to the inner surfaces 54 a of both side walls 54 at both endsin the longitudinal direction of the guide 50, and a pair of auxiliarysupporting surfaces 52 b extensively provided in the longitudinaldirection of the guide 50 adjacent to the inner surface 54 a of eachside wall 54. The groove 56 is divided into two parts in function; afirst part 56 a capable of accommodating the base 16 of the fastener 10between the inner surfaces 54 a of both side walls 54 above the sealingsurface 52 a and the auxiliary supporting surface 52 b; and a secondpart 56 b capable of accommodating the plurality of engaging elements 34of the fastener 10 below the sealing surface 52 a and the auxiliarysupporting surface 52 b.

The spacing between the inner surfaces 54 a of both side walls 54 ismade to have a size approximately identical to the size of the base 16of the fastener 10 in the width direction as an object to be supported.Therefore, when the fastener 10 is properly accommodated into the groove56 of the guide 50, the inner surfaces 54 a of the side walls 54 arebrought into close contact with the side edges extending in thelongitudinal direction of the base 16 of the fastener 10 accommodated inthe first part 56 a of the groove 56. The pair of sealing surfaces 52 aof the bottom wall 52 are brought into close contact with major surface12 of the box-shaped part 22 (having no engaging elements 34) on bothends in the longitudinal direction of the fastener 10.

In this way, the guide 50 can hold the fastener 10 in a predeterminedposture with frictional force in a state that the base 16 of thefastener 10 is embedded into the first part 56 a of the groove 56 whilethe engaging elements 34 of the engaging section 18 of the fastener 10are accommodated in the second part 56 b of the groove 56. As a result,it is possible to prevent liquid material from penetrating into thesecond part 56 b of the groove 56 when forming the molded body in astate that the fastener 10 is supported by the guide 50. In a state thatthe fastener 10 is properly held in the guide 50, the plurality ofprojecting elements 48 of the engaging section 20 project at the freeend region thereof outwards from both side walls 54 of the guide 50. Theguide 50 can be integrally manufactured by cutting from a metalbar-shaped material like aluminum, aluminum alloy, iron, etc.

FIG. 5 exemplifies an article 60 having the fastener 10 integrallyinstalled on a molded body 58 by the insert-molding process using theguide 50. In the example shown in the drawing, the article 60 is a seatfor a vehicle, and the molded body 58 constitutes a core member made ofa foamed resin material like polyurethane. In this construction, aplurality of fastener 10 function as fixing means for fixing a coveringmember 62 made of cloth or leather to the molded body 58. Each fastener10 is fixedly disposed in a slender recess 64 provided on the surface ofthe molded body 58 at a desired position along a seam 62 a of thecovering member 62.

In the insert-molding process, the guides 50 in a number correspondingto the number of fasteners 10 to be installed to the article 60 aredisposed within a mold (not shown) of the molded body 58, in a layoutcorresponding to the layout of the fasteners 10 on the surface of themolded body 58. Each guide 50 is fixed on the formed surface of the moldby fixing means like putty, bolts, magnets or the like, with the groove56 (FIG. 4) facing to the hollow part of the mold. Each fastener 10 isinstalled on the corresponding guide 50, with the plurality of engagingelements 34 of the engaging section 18 inserted into the second part 56b of the groove 56 of the guide 50, and with the plurality of box-shapedparts 22 of the base 16 fit into the first part 56 a of the groove 56 ofthe guide 50. Thus, the back surface 14 of the base 16 of each fastener10, and the rib 42 and the embedding section 20 (the plurality of posts44, anchors 46 and projecting elements 48) projectingly provided on theback surface 14, are disposed in an exposed state in the hollow part ofthe mold.

In this state, a liquid foam resin material of the molded body 58 issupplied to the hollow part of the mold. As described before, the base16 of the fastener 10 is brought into close contact with the pair ofinner surfaces 54 a, the sealing surface 52 a and the auxiliarysupporting surface 52 b of the guide 50, thereby to prevent the liquidresin material from penetrating into the second part 56 b of the groove56 of the guide 50. Thereafter, when the liquid resin material is foamedand solidified to form the molded body 58, each recess 64 is formed onthe surface of the molded body 58 at a position corresponding to thespace occupied by each guide 50 within the hollow part of the mold.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, in each recess 64, the fastener10 is fixed to the molded body 58 with the base 16 (except the majorsurface 12) and the embedding section (the plurality of posts 44,anchors 46 and projecting elements 48) embedded in the molded body 58,and thereby with the plurality of engaging elements 34 of the engagingsection 18 exposed in the inner space of each recess 64. In this state,each fastener 10 has its plurality of engaging elements 34 exposed ineach recess so that these engaging elements 34 may be detachably engagedwith corresponding engaging elements 66 such as fiber loops formed onthe back surface of the seam 62 a of the covering member 62, therebyfixing the covering member 62 to the surface of the molded body 58 (seeFIG. 7).

After the insert-molding process as described above, the molded body 58is formed in such a shape that it substantially surrounds the pluralityof posts 44, anchor 46 and projecting elements 48 which togetherconstitute the embedding section 20 of the fastener 10. At this point,the plurality of projecting elements 48 projecting sideways on bothsides of the base 16 of the fastener 10 are in a state that they biteinto the molded part further outside of the recess 64 of the molded body58 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). As a result, compared to a conventional fastenerthat only has the koban-shaped anchors which do not project out of thebase as an embedding section, the fastener 10 according to the presentinvention is fixed to the molded body 58 under sufficiently largerinstallation strength. Therefore, by means of the fastener 10 accordingto the invention, destruction of the interconnecting portion between thefastener 10 and the molded body 58 (the portion of molded materialsurrounding the embedding section 20) can be reliably prevented when thefastener 10 is used, for example, in a seat for a vehicle as describedabove, under a tension unintentionally exerted to the covering member 62due to frequent and rapid movement of the center of gravity of a seatedperson, or under a tension intentionally exerted for the purpose ofreplacement or the like, thereby permitting the covering member 62 to bedetached accurately and stably from the fastener 10. Also, when themolded body 58 is removed from the mold after the insert-molding processis completed, the fastener 10 is smoothly detached from the guide 50,which advantageously facilitates the removing operation of the moldedbody 58.

In the fastener 10, the plurality of projecting elements 48 arediscretely disposed by being spaced apart from each other in thelongitudinal direction of the base 16 so that presence of the projectingelements 48 does not impair the three-dimensional flexibility of thebase 16 as described before. Since individual projecting element 48enlarges the size in the width direction of the embedding section 20disposed on the back surface 14 of the base 16, even when the fastener10 is applied to a case where presence of the fastener 10 can berecognized by the feeling of touch by a user as in the above-describedapplication to a seat for a vehicle, installation strength of thefastener can be increased as much as possible by means of the embeddingsection 20 without impairing the feeling of touch. Further, since theplurality of projecting elements 48 can be formed integrally with thebase 16, for example, by an injection molding process, increase of thenumber of parts can be avoided.

The projecting element provided on the embedding section of the fasteneraccording to the present invention may be formed in various forms,provided that the required installation strength as described above canbe ensured. In particular, the construction as shown in FIG. 8 in whichprojecting elements 48 in the shape of round bar (circular or ellipticcylinder) are connected to an anchor 44 having a koban-shaped profile,and in which the anchor itself has a generally flat outer surface 44 aextending in parallel to the back surface 14 on the side away from theback surface 14 of the base 16, has following advantageous effect in themounting of the fastener on the above-described guide 50. That is, whenan operator mounts the fastener 10 manually on the above-described guide50, the fastener 10 can be smoothly slid on the surface 44 a of theplurality of anchors 44 arranged adjoiningly in the longitudinaldirection of the fastener 10 with a finger or jig abutted to it. By sucha smooth sliding operation, the base 16 of the fastener 10 can be pushedinto the groove 56 of the guide 50 quickly and progressively.

As shown in FIG. 9, the koban-shaped anchor 44 may be omitted, and thewhole anchoring function may be composed of a bar-shaped projectingelement 68. Or, as shown in FIG. 10, a projecting element 70 of agenerally rectangular shape may be adopted. Or, as shown in FIG. 11, aplate-like projecting element 72 of a generally diamond shape may beadopted.

In the above-described embodiment, the size relation between the base 16and the projecting element 48 for ensuring the required installationstrength can be chosen as follows. For example, the size relationbetween the base 16 and the projecting element 48 in the longitudinaldirection of the fastener 10 is such that, when expressed with thelongitudinal dimension A of a box-shaped part 22 of the base 16 and thewidth B of an individual projecting element 48 (FIG. 2), B/A ispreferably within the range 0.1≦B/A≦0.4. Also, the size relation betweenthe base 16 and the projecting element 48 in the width direction of thefastener 10 is preferably such that, when expressed with the widthdimension C and the distance D between both ends of a pair of projectingelements 48 (FIG. 3), D/C is chosen to be within the range 1≦D/C≦6.

In the above-described construction, the plurality of projectingelements of the fastener according to the present invention are formedintegrally with the base. However, the present invention is not limitedto the above construction, and the projecting elements may be detachablyprovided on the base. FIG. 12 is a view showing a fastener 78 accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention which comprises ananchor member 76 having such projecting elements 74. Since the fastener78 has substantially the same construction as the above-describedfastener 10 except for the construction of the projecting element 74,corresponding constituent elements are denoted by common referencesymbols, and explanation thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 13, the anchor member 76 is comprised integrally of apair of plate-shaped projecting elements 74 having a profile ofgenerally equilateral triangle, a square-bar shaped beam 80interconnecting the two projecting elements in a symmetric layout withthe vertices facing opposite to each other, and a plate-shaped mountingportion 82 formed between the two projecting elements 74 approximatelyat the longitudinal center of the beam 80. Two sets of anchoringelements 84, 86 projecting sideways on both sides of the beam 80 areformed on the mounting portion 82. One set of anchoring elements 84, 86are composed of a small-sized anchoring element 84 having a profile ofgenerally right-angled triangle and a large-sized anchoring element 86having a profile of generally rectangular shape. The two anchoringelements 84, 86 are disposed such that an oblique side of thesmall-sized anchoring element 84 is situated away from the large-sizedanchoring element 86, and that a gap slightly larger than the thicknessof the post 44 provided on the back surface 14 of the base 16 of thefastener 78, is formed between the two anchoring elements 84 and 86. Thetwo sets of anchoring elements 84, 86 are disposed symmetrically to eachother with respect to the beam 80 as a centerline.

The anchor member 76 is detachably mounted to the back surface 14 of thefastener 78 in a relative positioning with the beam 80 facing in adirection approximately orthogonal to the rib 42 provided on the baseback surface 14 of the fastener 78. Thus, the beam 80 of the anchormember 76 is inserted between a pair of adjoining koban-shaped anchors46 provided on the base back surface 14 of the fastener 78, and themounting portion 82 formed at approximately the longitudinal center ofthe beam 80 is anchored to a pair of posts 44 supporting the anchors 46(FIG. 12). Here, with the oblique side of the pair of small-sizedanchoring elements 84 abutted first to the two posts 44, the mountingportion 82 is inserted between the posts 44 under a pressing force.Thereby, with accompanying elastic deformation of the two posts 44,corresponding post 42 is fit in a snap style into the gap between theanchoring elements 84, 86 of the respective set. When the anchor member76 is properly mounted to the base back surface 14 of the fastener 78, apair of projecting elements 74 are disposed as a whole so as to projecton both sides in the width direction of the base 16.

The fastener 78 having the above-described construction is, by means ofthe insert molding process as described before, integrally installed tothe molded body 58 (FIG. 6). In this state, the plurality of posts 44and anchors 46 of the fastener 78 are embedded into the molded body 58,and the anchor members 76 mounted on the adjoining pair of posts 44,especially two projecting elements 74, bite deeply into the molded body58, in the same manner as the projecting elements 48 shown in FIG. 6. Asa result, compared to a conventional fastener that only has thekoban-shaped anchors which do not project out of the base as anembedding section, the fastener 78 is fixed to the molded body 58 undersufficiently larger installation strength. It will be appreciated that,in this manner, the same operative effect can be obtained with thefastener 78 as with the above-described fastener 10.

Further, the fastener 78 has the advantage in that it permits desirednumber of anchor members 76 to be selectively mounted at desiredpositions in the longitudinal direction, on the fastener base havingconventional construction. With this construction, even if the requiredfastener installation strength varies depending on the installationposition, when installing the fastener to the molded body of an articleto which the fastener is applied, the optimal fastener installationstrength can be easily achieved.

The projecting elements of the anchor member mounted on the embeddingsection of the fastener according to the present invention may takevarious forms provided that the required installation strength asdescribed above can be ensured. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, ananchor member 94 comprising integrally a plate-shaped projecting element88 having a generally rectangular profile, a square-bar shaped beam 90extending over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of theprojecting element 88, or a mounting portion 92 formed approximately atthe longitudinal center of the projecting element 88, may be adopted.Two sets of anchoring elements 84, 86 projecting laterally on both sidesof the projecting element 88, are formed on the mounting portion of theanchor member 94, and in the same manner as in the anchor member 76,these anchoring elements 84, 86 are anchored to a pair of posts 44 ofthe fastener 78. When the anchor member 94 is properly mounted on thebase back surface 14 of the fastener 78, the projecting elements 88 aredisposed so as to project laterally on both sides in the width directionof the base 16.

EXAMPLE

In order to determine the improvement effect on the installationstrength of the fastener according to the present invention, aseparation test was performed on the fastener 10 shown in FIG. 1, asinstalled to the molded body. Specifically, a fastener 10 was preparedwith total length of the base 16 of 250 mm, total width of the base 16of 8.5 mm, and distance D between both ends of a pair of projectingelements 48 (FIG. 3) of 30 mm, and by means of an insert-moldingprocess, was installed to the molded body 58 (or a sitting part of avehicle seat) shown in FIG. 5. (see FIG. 6). In this state, a stretchingforce was applied at one longitudinal end of the base 16 of the fastener10, in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the recess 64of the molded body 58, and the force at the moment when the embeddingsection 20 was separated from the molded body 58 was measured as theinstallation strength. The measured installation strength was about 40N.

As a comparative example, same separation test was performed on aconventional fastener having koban-shaped anchors which do not projectout of the base. The conventional fastener had identical construction asthe above-mentioned tested fastener 10, except that the projectingelements 48 were not provided. The installation strength measured withthe conventional fastener was about 20 N.

As is evident from the foregoing explanation, in accordance with thepresent invention, with the fastener integrally installed to an articleby means of an embedding section provided on the back surface of thestrip-shaped base, the installation strength for installing to anarticle by means of the embedding section can be improved as much aspossible without impairing the flexibility inherent in the fastener.

1. A fastener comprising: a strip-shaped base having a major surface anda back surface opposite to the major surface; an engaging sectionprovided on the major surface of said base; and an embedding sectionprovided on the back surface of said base, said fastener being adaptedto be installed integrally to an article through said embedding section,said embedding section comprising a plurality of projecting elementsdiscretely arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in alongitudinal direction of said base, and each projecting element extendsoutward from said base substantially in a width direction of said base.2. A fastener according to claim 1, wherein each of said projectingelements is formed integrally with said base.
 3. A fastener according toclaim 1, wherein each of said projecting elements is provided detachablyon said base.
 4. A fastener according to claim 1, wherein said pluralityof projecting elements are arranged at regular intervals in thelongitudinal direction of said base, and said projecting elementsproject symmetrically on both lateral sides of said base.
 5. A fasteneraccording to claim 1, wherein each of said projecting elements has agenerally flat outer surface extending in parallel to the back surfaceon a side away from said back surface of said base.
 6. A fasteneraccording to claim 2, wherein said plurality of projecting elements arearranged at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of saidbase, and said projecting elements project symmetrically on both lateralsides of said base.
 7. A fastener according to claim 3, wherein saidplurality of projecting elements are arranged at regular intervals inthe longitudinal direction of said base, and said projecting elementsproject symmetrically on both lateral sides of said base.
 8. A fasteneraccording to claim 2, wherein each of said projecting elements has agenerally flat outer surface extending in parallel to the back surfaceon a side away from said back surface of said base.
 9. A fasteneraccording to claim 3, wherein each of said projecting elements has agenerally flat outer surface extending in parallel to the back surfaceon a side away from said back surface of said base.
 10. A fasteneraccording to claim 4, wherein each of said projecting elements has agenerally flat outer surface extending in parallel to the back surfaceon a side away from said back surface of said base.
 11. A fasteneraccording to claim 6, wherein each of said projecting elements has agenerally flat outer surface extending in parallel to the back surfaceon a side away from said back surface of said base.
 12. A fasteneraccording to claim 7, wherein each of said projecting elements has agenerally flat outer surface extending in parallel to the back surfaceon a side away from said back surface of said base.